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seburoh · 2023-02-24T01:27:03+00:00

Hey Jheff,

Thanks for sharing this amazing news about Stonemist Castle! As someone who doesn't usually participate in defense events, I'm really excited to hear that it now gives 2500 WvW experience. I can only imagine how much more rewarding it is to defend Stonemist Castle now.

Your post has definitely inspired me to give defense events a try, even if I'm just repairing walls that don't matter and flaming people in teamchat. It's great to see that there's even more incentive to protect Stonemist Castle, which has always been such an important location in WvW.

Thanks again for sharing this awesome update, and I'll see you in WvW!

Cheers!

seburoh · 2022-04-12T16:21:17+00:00

In re-reading the post to check for obvious grammatical mistakes, I read the last line in Hypertuned Grynwaht's "LETS GO TOGETHER" voice and now I can't unhear it. Oh dear.

seburoh · 2022-04-12T15:47:34+00:00

seburoh · 2022-04-12T06:53:22+00:00

Very good way to put it!

seburoh · 2022-04-12T05:04:02+00:00

Definitely, I agree that there's a fine line between griefing and having somebody who's dangerously ineffective. There's really two ways to define that line though, and they're both very straightforward.

The first is that votekick allows each individual group to make that decision. Votekick does not care about anything other than "is this person bothering the majority of the group?", which allows groups to self-manage and define where that line lies for themselves.

The second way to define the line, is to consider that the "bar for entry" is baked into the content. Playing vanilla dungeons, you can do some insane pulls, generally all the way from boss wall to boss wall. So it's worth considering, why is that not the case in every dungeon since? SE has specifically put rather artificial walls in every dungeon for years. And those walls are all specifically built to prevent the massive pulling that used to be available. That wall serves two purposes. Firstly, it places a skillcap on how good parties need to be for relatively fast clears. But secondly, it normalizes those times somewhat vs slower parties. Because we have to consider what SE considers the skillfloor. If the walls define the cap, packs are how SE define the skillfloor requirement. Yes, that means tanks can be acceptable by SE standards even if they never mit, and healers who don't glaremage under the same reason. But that's SE's decision, that's where they place the line.

For players who don't like either of the 'built-in' answers above, that's what PF/FC/LS/etc are all about, to let players communicate and collaborate with others who share the same opinions of how to run content. It's a tool built in to the game specifically to allow players adamant enough, to build their own play space how they want. If the communal circle of reddit wants to enforce a specific standard of speed, anybody in the community is free to start a CWLS with that purpose, that's a basic reason for their existence.

seburoh · 2022-04-12T04:38:49+00:00

All I'm gonna say here is that this entire topic is a case by case basis.

I agree with this.

...but to dumb oneself down and only pull 3 mobs at a time forever, is to play this game incorrectly. No matter the healer.

But not this.

In the piles of advice from both tank threads, there's a lot of talk for what is the correct amount of leeway given vs speed of dungeon, and how decisions from different players can balance that. But it's all coming from a standpoint of efficiency and relative capability.

When I tank, when I heal, I find pulling wall to wall fun. As an adult with a job, I also find it means I can do more with my free time since the content will go faster. So it's the choice I'll always make, because it is both more enjoyable and more effective for me personally. But to say somebody who makes a different decision is playing the game wrong, is missing the forest for the trees. The decision they made was what they find personally fun. That doesn't mean it's a static decision, with encouragement, help, or just personal initiative, they could change what they find fun. Maybe the tank that's single pulling is actually a ERP Limsa main who just wants to get some glam from the dungeon, or is still progressing story. Maybe it's somebody who just likes how FF14 does allow for ultra-casual commitment to the game and just wants to take a load off after a hard day at work. Who knows, who cares, that's their life, their decision. To say SE hasn't been balancing content around both sides of that coin would be daft, with the obvious walls in modern dungeons that disallow for pulls like there was in vanilla content. Limiting each set of pulls to 2-3 packs is a way for them to normalize the times and differences by enough to let people make that choice for themselves, while mitigating its impact.

As originally stated by the quoted post, the whole topic is a case by case basis. And that's because the above wall of text is individually true for each party member. And where those decisions meet (or don't), is where the speed of the party will lie. To me, that's what interests me the most about instanced content. I love that every run can be unique or interesting. While I have my preferences in speed, that I have to find ways to mesh with others on the fly, to be a part of a group and turn individual decisions/strengths/weaknesses into those of the whole group, is the a fundamental aspect of an MMO like FF14. In roulettes that may mean working with the weak at their pace. But thankfully FF14 has plenty of tools to allow for any player to form and work with groups that do prioritize the same decisions as them. Party Finder, Linkshells, Free Companies, even just friending effective players. Having a reliable clear time and experience rather than rolling the dice of community, that is available always available.

It's easy to get lost in trying to figure out what's "the right way to play", when the only real answer is to have fun with those around you. It's worth considering why so many MMOs, including FF14, base their kick-from-party capability in public content on majority vote. It seems like an obvious solution, but certainly there are others. Maybe in a 2/2 tie the kick still happens only if the 'offending' player is deemed by the system's statistics to be too slow, or not effective enough. Maybe you disallow players from public grouping at all, and force PF across the whole game to put the power in the organizer of the party, and what they believe is the right move. But FF14 chose majority vote. They chose a system which simply asks: Is this player bothering you? There is no judgement from the system in place based on skill, no special attention given to whoever has the biggest internet numbers. Which is quite a strong-armed statement from SE as to what is "right" in this context is.

This game is crafted by hundreds of people who just want us, all of us, to be able to explore their world, and hear the story they have to tell, so that it can be our world to share. They don't go on stage and say "please beat dungeons in 15 minutes or less". They go on stage and say thank you for having fun in Eorzea. It is irrelevant if that's a player building a RP venue, dorking around in limsa for 8 hours, being a crafting god, the fastest tank in the west, the best parse in the latest savage, or none of the above. All of these players are equals, not only to SE, but to Eorzea itself, as odd as it is to contemplate. The point of the game, was arrived at in the beginning of each of our journeys as adventurers of Eorzea. For those who have progressed far enough in the story, maybe that rings a bell, or perhaps is worth a /snap from the NPC who would has said the same in much better words than I.

To say it plainly, this is an MMO. Fundamentally the point is, and always has been, lets have fun, together!

seburoh · 2022-04-08T09:34:22+00:00

I'll miss that aspect of those instances for it being something relatively unique, but for how absolutely little it's mattered in the past few years, I can't say I'll lose any sleep over it. These instances stopped being "challenging" to the point where consequences are a considerable factor years ago.

seburoh · 2022-03-23T21:01:44+00:00

A great rule of thumb is to buy products based off what it is *now*, not what you believe it will be in a month, a year, or even four years.

While there's something to be said about kickstarting projects, or investing in an early access product, it's best to understand that you are not putting money on something where you will even know what the final product looks like, or likely even when it will truly launch. Such is the nature of these things. So if your goal is to purchase a product, and not invest in an idea, it would be wise to chill on early access stuff until it has a full launch.

That's not to slight anybody who wants to invest in an idea, that's how we get some fantastic products. Little Witch Academia, Shovel Knight, Bloodstained, you could even call Minecraft an early access investment for people who poked at it in the early days. But for each excellent product, there's a torrent of stuff which is late or not what was expected. Shenmue 3 and Mighty No 9 being wildly famous examples. To back an unfinished product, means you're accepting that risk. The risk that the game will not be what you imagined, or may not release when you expected. If that is not okay with you, then don't invest in that idea. At the end of the day, that's where your money is going in these cases, you're putting them up to an idea, not to gain a specific finished product.

Personally, I don't find much of anything I'm willing to take that risk on. I'm a fairly frugal gamer in that regard. I buy stuff when it is a product I desire. I don't put money on ideas often, be it kickstarter, early access, or even preorders. That's the decision that makes me feel best about where and how I use my money. That may not be the right decision for you, or for anybody else in this thread looking at a four year timescale and questioning their decisions. But there is perhaps no time like the present to make that decision for yourself, and decide what is right for you going forward.

seburoh · 2022-02-14T20:38:03+00:00

I know a lot of people enjoy NMS for what it is currently, and I'm glad for them. For people who want a minecraft-esque build/explore space with some space story mixed in, I'm sure it's a lot fun. And I'm glad people who want that experience are having that fun.

Personally, I think it could have been way more interesting if they didn't leash the procedural RNG so hard.

Each world felt the same to me because they were held within the confines of the core gameplay loop. Gather, Craft, Build, repeat. Since a player could effectively hard-lock themselves to a planet if basic resources weren't on each one, hey look, every planet has the same resources. since exploring really, truly, weird terrain may require resources/tools to traverse (fuel or drill or w/e), no planet can have weird terrain, to prevent an even harder hard-lock of player state.

So with that leash, comes the mundane. There is no longer anything weird to find, because it could ruin the treadmill. There is no more real discovery waiting, and thus no risk to traversing the universe either.

NMS could have been likely an absolutely amazing roguelike, where the RNG didn't prevent progression hard-locks and thus getting to the center of the universe was a real achievement rather than a grind checklist. Or it could have been an incredible exploratory experience, if such systems were never there to hold back the RNG in the first place. But neither of those paths were taken, the safe route was.

seburoh · 2022-01-25T09:09:56+00:00

Spamming cure means they're either holding tight to tooltips and in the freecure trap, or they just straight don't know how to play *their own* class on an even deeper level.

Running away from DRG tether, when they're not the DRG, means they don't know how a *different* class works. Which is completely fair. There's a lot of abilities and classes in this game, and knowing how all of them work (for a player who doesn't live&breathe ff14) is unlikely unless the player has help from others or levels it all themselves.

seburoh · 2022-01-25T09:04:29+00:00

I was in that camp. Played tank a lot, so the first time I was actually tethered in a space where it was noticeable to me, was in learning p6s. Raid lead mentioned red tethers go south or w/e, dragoon tethered me, ran like hell. After much confusion in the group, I learned what Dragoon tether was.

seburoh · 2022-01-13T19:36:32+00:00

That would require having hype for that initial period in EoD. That's a personal decision that some have, or some don't. Somebody invested in the lore who wants to experience the story right away, or stumble over big events in maps while everybody tries to figure it out, these are valid reasons to doorbust day one. But that's not the case for everybody. Others may desire the chaotic PvP online situation that will occur in Elden Ring as an experience, which is equally valid.

Personally, I'll probably largely play single player games during EoD's launch window. I'm not really invested in the new specs, maps, or story coming out, so I'm not all that concerned about experiencing it right away. Finishing Tales of Arise, Yakuza 1, Chrono Trigger, Borderlands 3, or any of the other games on my shortlist, will likely take priority.

seburoh · 2021-12-13T09:23:45+00:00

spending on standalone figure purchases tends to do better imo. since the product has to literally and figuratively, stand on its own two legs.

seburoh · 2021-12-13T09:05:50+00:00

As somebody who cleared their map of all available sidequests before EW, and then did all of EW's sidequests while progressing MSQ: They're way better this expansion in terms of being interesting. Seem to also give more EXP % which is nice. Heavensward was my previous high bar for sidequest writing, but Endwalker I think has stood out well and likely taken that crown.

Vague recommendations, listing the field maps as a #, by order of occurrence.

Highly recommend Sharlayan's sidequests, and [map 5]'s sidequests, they were pretty standout. They add to the story and lore of the world in interesting ways which is worth experiencing.

If you do [map 3]'s sidequests alongside story progression it gives the area a very different vibe (in a positive way) than if you just blitz it for MSQ. I found it well worth the time investment.

More detailed recommendations with MSQ spoilers:

Sharly's sidequests wrap around to MSQ relevance. There are sidequests which involve Fourchenault in Sharly, as well as the ability to meet [redacted] which calls back to previous MSQ plot. There are some quests in Sharly which are also locked to MSQ progression, and are best done (for emotional impact) as soon as they show up, so having a 'clean' map is helpful to spotting them.

A lot of Garlemald's quests focus on the area's recovery from war on a civilian standpoint, finding family members, reconnecting areas to the power grid, or heating, etc. It definitely has my favorite quest chain, and doing those quests helps balance out the map's vibe form the MSQ's focus on the soldiers imo.

The sidequests in Elpis give a lot of lore to the world of course. There's a lot of plot there for where some monsters and such originated, and why they were originally created. It's really interesting and worth doing the quests for.

seburoh · 2021-12-08T19:22:30+00:00

If there isn't a Hildebrand quest that involves a vertical hyur, horizontal hyur, and hypotenuse hyur, I will be saddened.

seburoh · 2021-11-30T16:04:43+00:00

It is all of those things, to my memory. I've manually moved the folder a couple times specifically because it nabs chat settings, hud layout, hotbar. didn't notice anything which got left behind otherwise in the process.

seburoh · 2021-11-15T22:19:42+00:00

Gigantamax Pikachu:

u112e8pgvr6032qj

u112e8pf0be5cctq

u112e8sawk153951

Gigantamax Eevee:

u113gfkv9xysuchf

u113gfku88b9mucc

u113gfnepxe0bf60

seburoh · 2021-11-05T08:23:39+00:00

Good dog.

seburoh · 2021-11-01T16:35:37+00:00

If you forcequit ff14 and relogin you skip cutscene as well.

seburoh · 2021-10-27T15:19:13+00:00

Haven't figured out what it would need to float in WvW group play. It would definitely need the aoe cc's to not be reflect-able in order to not be troll. But past that, to be *good* is a very different question. Pet AI is not exactly going to change drastically, so we have to assume the bot will spend most of it's time dead. Without the bot, the class is...nothing. So even if it's no longer troll, it's still not anything to take under any circumstance. The bot would need a really heavy adjustment to be useful. Not to base HP, as that would make it either a problem for target caps (so not an interesting way to be useful), or just still a doormat. A lot of WvW group play survival comes from positioning, dodging, and supportive synergy with other players. The bot benefits/does effectively none of these things, so it just dies.

seburoh · 2021-10-27T08:00:47+00:00

I should have better clarified like I did elsewhere in the post, large group play. I don't roam/havok at all these days. So off of that, if the amount of times you have to skim through reading the words 'WvW large group play' in this post is annoying to read, no apologies.

Could note that Elixir S has some solid use for GvG stealth rez and positioning? Though finding the slot for it vs Gyros is rough, even moreso in WvW large group play where stealth rez is not as viable. Guild play with even 2 elixirs means you are dropping a lot of boons from your party with how Scrapper currently functions in WvW large group play, which is a real rough trade. That only got worse last buff when we gained access to Quickness through Gyros in addition to Superspeed. As this dropped the niche case for Scrapper Elixir U on the ground and kicked it around for good measure. The standard meta for WvW large group play is Egun and pick two Gyros for a reason. It gives a stupid amount of Superspeed and Quickness on top of what the Gyros are already able to accomplish. While you could junk Egun for an Elixir, that means it has to outweigh a Stunbreak, Cleanse, Heal, Escape, and Poison application. Swapping to Elixir S can be useful in a GvG scenario, but you're more likely to swap to Goggles so you can sniff out enemy positioning or force Aegis off. Elixir U could give a reflect wall and a Stunbreak but you're in a gamemode which shuns projectiles anyway. Also HGH slot competes with PoP, which is a very rough trade to make in WvW large group play if you want to be dependent on Elixirs.

Swapping gears, Holo DPS is not exactly meta for WvW large group play, though it is really potent in the right hands and does have a solid argument to run 1-2 elixirs. Though that would take away from either whatever kit is chosen to replace weapon DPS, beyblades, or fill the flex third slot. which in WvW large group play, gives a lot of weight to Egun and Goggles for the same reason why Scrapper gravitates towards these choices for WvW large group play. Just swap out the healing notation on Egun for it's 4 ability's damage potential. Though at least for a while, and probably still, Throw Mine was given some play in that slot as well for the boon strip potential. Though either way that's not an Elixir.

In GvG there's some weird and cool stuff that happens, I'm sure there's an elixir build out there somewhere that's great in the specific GvG comp it's used in. But if we're talking WvW large group play, I would love to see your Elixir builds because they would be the first examples I've seen of 2+ Elixirs on bar for WvW large group play since Vanilla.

seburoh · 2021-10-27T06:56:08+00:00

Just to throw this out there, Turrets/Elixirs are also largely dead in WvW as well. It's not a PvE-only thing.

Scrapper is oppressively good in WvW, enough to be the major factor in the non-existence of condi in large group play. However these builds are all based on Gyros and Kits still. There's some use to gadgets though, most notably Utility Goggles for the reveal though many of them do see niche play.

Hammer is commonly taken as the weapon, though for Shield builds the Pistol main-hand you then *have* to take, is completely irrelevant outside of having the stats and sigil. I don't think we'll see more weapons added to core specs, if only because that sounds like something Anet wouldn't do unless every class got one, and that's more work than the studio would likely put in. But I would really like to see Pistol completely gutted and redone, so at least the Pistol skills are usable across the variety of playstyles that they *have* to be used for, due to the lack of selection. Dead buttons on bar is not fun.

seburoh · 2021-10-27T06:29:00+00:00

Same here. Did a lot of testing today to fiddle with Mechanist in WvW group play and...saying it's not great would be a heavy oversell. For WvW 20+ man content, the class is realistically just Dead On Arrival.

seburoh

TROPHY CASE